February 27, 2009 by Chris Harrower, CTIS.

One last day in the Queen City.  It’s always bitter-sweet when the show ends.  I’m looking forward to getting home to Linda and the kids, but I’ve had such a blast, it’s sad to see it end!

More appointments today, and everyone’s highlight, the Broadway luncheon.  As usual, they brought out a great mix of the new (I had NOT heard about “Rock of Ages”, the 80’s Hard Rock musical…what fun!), and the classics (what a surprise…the Lion King preview was not “Shadowlands”!).  Of course, the highlight, as always, was the full cast of Jersey Boys doing several numbers.  Don’t care if I’ve seen that sequence about five times this year…I still get up, dance and clap along.  What a great show!

Maryland/DC/Virginia did a great job in the evening getting us excited about 2010 at the Gaylord National Harbor.  And then it was over, except one last time of craziness in the Westin bar.  It started with Emi and Michelle teasing the boys from Eastern Travel…next thing you knew, Emi was Robert, and Robert was Emi, and everyone was exchanging name tags and assuming another person’s identity.  I think we’ve started a new trend…I already have things arranged for who I will become in 2010.

It was a very funny end to a very good convention.  Was it all a hit?  Nope, but ABA continues to bat right around .900, and that’s an average that is nothing short of impressive.  And there’s ALWAYS room for improvement, and I know that improvement is #1 on Lynn, Vicki and Pete’s list.  In 2010, there will be more new ideas, new activities, and new opportunities.  And that, in a nutshell, is what ABA is all about!

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February 27, 2009 by Chris Harrower, CTIS.

Sunday in Charlotte…and it’s finally appointment time for us Attractions!

I’ve said it before, but the appointments really are not the highlight for me.  I do more “work” in Orientation and at the evening events, but I do enjoy the appointments!  The majority are with people I either know very well, or at least know fairly well.  But there’s still that moment when I can surprise them…either they didn’t know about our other theatres, or our touring company, or something.

But I also had “damage control” to do…one week prior to ABA, a large Dinner Theatre in Ohio closed their doors very suddenly, and it effected quite a few Operators. The Theatre is now bankrupt, and deposits probably won’t be returned to those companies.  So we decided to offer to honor any monies already paid to Carousel if they would move their reservation to us.

Several Operators asked why we were doing it, and that’s a legitimate question.  We didn’t do it for the exposure (although that never hurts!).  We didn’t do it for the increased business (although that never hurts!).  We did it to send the message that, in these troubled economic times, we are still standing strong, and that the demise of one Dinner Theatre doesn’t say that we’re all one step ahead of the bankers!

It’s the same as the other side of the table…when a Tour Operator goes out of business (or a hotel, or a restaurant, or a whatever), it effects everyone.  There is a natural tendency to react to something like that, and to wonder if my favorite restaurant is next.  So my goal was more to say “we’re fine, and we’ll still be here next year”.

Sometimes, you have to take the “bigger stand”, and help send a message.  One Operator that is seriously considering the offer had over $2,000 in deposits and pre-payments to Carousel, but we’ll bite the bullet and work with her if she chooses to transfer the dates to us.  It will hurt, but it also helps solidify our message of strength and consistency.  And you can’t put a price on that!

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February 27, 2009 by Chris Harrower, CTIS.

Back on the floor as Captain again Saturday morning, and it’s really getting quiet in Orientation.  But that’s OK…we’ve done a good job with the Star delegates, and there comes a point when things should slow down.

Today is the Branson lunch…now, I know that the Broadway luncheon gets top billing when it comes to the meals not to be missed, but I’ve come to really look forward to the Branson lunch.  It can be very hit or miss, but there’s always a few stars present, and I still remember the thrill the year we were in Texas.  The show started with Les Brown Jr. and the Band Of Renown (my parents loved them).  The show ended with Andy Williams (my Mom’s absolute favorite singer ever).

This year, the show started with Lee Greenwood, and included a bunch of new talented people from town.  In the middle, Cathy Rigby came out to preview a production of Peter Pan that’s going to be in Branson for the next year (I knew it was a matter of time before she flew over the audience, and she did not disappoint).  Closing was Yakov Smirnov (my Dad’s favorite comedian), so you knew that Lee Greenwood would come back out to sing “God Bless The USA”.  But it was still stirring stuff, and they did a great job.

More Orientation in the afternoon, then another of the events I’ve been waiting for…the party at Lowes Motor Speedway!  Have you gathered by now that I’m kind of a NASCAR Fan? I freely admit to being totally hooked, and I was really looking forward to this event.  We gathered the usual suspects at the coaches, and loaded up.  We were not sure what the full evening plan was, but we knew that Steve had “fastpasses” to jump to the front of the line for pace car rides!  They had given them to Operators during Marketplace today, and he casually gathered some extras in from friends that were not going to the event.  So we were golden!

First stop, the new ZMax Drag Racing venue…beautiful, and I was hoping we’d see a funnycar, or something.  Instead, the buses were running down the track!  Fun, if your driver was into it…ours was not.  He was having serious bus troubles, and I don’t think he wanted to risk anything.  When we pulled off the Interstate, the bus shut down at the top of the exit ramp, blocking traffic for about 3 minutes.  So he understandably took it easy…it was still fun to roll down that long track, and imagine what it might feel like.

Then, up the hill, and the back way into the Speedway…except the bus shut down again at the top of one of the hills, and would not start!  We sat there for what seemed like all night (probably only about 10 minutes), and he eventually got it running again.  We did learn a very important life lesson, though.  If Michelle’s blood sugar gets too low, she turns into a panther with claws fully extended.  Very critical piece of information for future conventions!

Finally, we were inside the track through the tunnel…had to wait a bit for the coaches to circle the track, then it was finally time!  We used the “fastpasses” and hopped into a pace car for a trip around the track.  Now, we only got up to around 95, but it was still thrilling.  So thrilling that we all ended up taking multiple trips!  The very long line thinned out as the evening went on, until you could just walk up and get in a car. Of course, the times I let the girls go, their drivers went triple digits (Emi got up to 105!), but it was still a thrill to be on that track, especially on the high banks of the turns!

Best ride was actually in the LMS Van…because the driver was also the head of maintenance for the track!  He took us around probably 10 laps (most of the cars were doing 2-3 laps).  He explained just about everything we wanted to know, and really helped fill in the gaps of my NASCAR knowledge.  I was able to ask those “stupid questions” I always wanted to ask, but didn’t want to show my ignorance to the NASCAR cogniscenti that I hang out with.

Great event, ABA!  Can we schedule all future Marketplaces near a NASCAR track, so we can do that again?

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